Treaty of Versailles
|
Posted by Lorri Brown Dec 26, 2006 |
Like the “Weimar Republic,” the “Treaty of Versailles” is another term which is thrown around European History quite a bit, and could use a brief explanation.
There have been several treaties of Versailles over the years, but the Treaty of Versailles usually refers to the one marking the end of World War I, and saddling Germany with all the blame and reparations of the war. In short, without the Treaty of Versailles, which further humiliated and degraded the already war-torn German people, Hitler would not have had a political platform from which to spew his hate mongering, and there would have been no World War II.
The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles, outside of Paris. The main points of the treaty were reparations and disarmament of Germany. Some historians point out that the treaty was more about punishing Germany, than preventing another war. Looking back at the Treaty through a lens of hindsight, it is a pretty harsh and unrealistic agreement.
Germany agreed to pay heavy reparations for causing the war (a staggering 33 billion dollars!) By 1923 it became obvious that Germany would not be able to keep up with the unrealistic payment plan and payments were deferred for nine years. Many businessmen in the United States loaned Germany money to get back on its feet, but this ultimately caused inflation and the helped to contribute to the Great Depression.
Another part of the treaty called for a drastic reduction in armed forces in Germany, including eliminating their navy and air force. The German army was reduced to 100,000 men. Germany also lost all of its overseas colonies, and had to give up territory to neighboring countries.
Naturally, the treaty did not sit well with the German people, who, up until the very last days of the war, believed victory to be theirs. Military generals who knew Germany was doomed to lose the war, allowed public fury to be directed against the new social democratic government, the Weimar Republic. Later Hitler would use the harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles to rouse the German people’s indignation over the unfair treatment by the rest of Europe and the United States, and help solidify German Nationalism, leading ultimately to WWII.
Sources:
Facing History and Ourselves: Holocaust and the Human Behavior. Facing History and Ourselves, National Foundation, Inc. Brookline, MA. 1994
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761566689/Treaty_of_Versailles.html